TV series may be launched, often a filler short series between seasons to ensure the 22-episode run will conclude in May. Cancellation A network may put a show on hiatus before canceling it. This may be to evaluate the series' quality, warn the television producers in an effort to push them to produce a more profitable product, fill its timeslot with another program to compare ratings, or warn viewers that the show is not pulling its weight in ratings to see how the show performs in reruns before deciding whether or not it deserves another season. In some cases, this is due to creative differences. ABC dealt with such a situation in the mid-1980s with their Tuesday night dramedy Moonlighting on three fronts, including actor Bruce Willis's growing disinterest in the series due to his budding film career, Cybill Shepherd unable to handle the overwhelming workload of the series, and overlong scripts and overbearing production demands from series creator/writer/showrunner Glenn Gordon Caron. The series was never able to fulfill a full series run in its five seasons and had multiple production hiatuses, to the network's constant consternation. Other reasons A series may be put on hiatus for other reasons. The 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike forced several television series (including Pushing Daisies, Eli Stone, Chuck, The Big Bang Theory, and Heroes) to go into un-planned hiatus and deferred the scheduled returns of other series such as 24 for an extended period. A show may go on hiatus in reaction to its content: The Pokémon anime was put on hiatus in Japan from December 17, 1997 until April 16, 1998 after the airing of an episode which caused 685 viewers to have seizures. A show may also be put on hiatus due to personal issues with a cast member, or an illness or death: examples are the death of 8 Simple Rules actor John Ritter; The Royal Family being retooled after the death of Redd Foxx; and Sonny with a Chance actress Demi Lovato departing Disney Channel to deal with personal issues, leading to that show's retooling around the show within a show So Random!. In 2020, that year's coronavirus pandemic had an inordinate and worldwide impact on the entirety of the television industry, effectively forcing a number of programs across all genres to go on hiatus or end their seasons early due to public health concerns and public gathering